


Homecoming

by smittenbritain



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Battle Buddies AU, Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 19:03:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14219718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smittenbritain/pseuds/smittenbritain
Summary: The agency was sending Jeremy out on a mission - solo, this time. Ryan wasn’t going.





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Waffle-o (XylB)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/XylB/gifts).



> Alternatively titled "Bed, Bath, and Beyond" because I wanted the B alliteration but I only really managed to hit the "Bed" part of that title.
> 
> This is a gift for [TJ](https://redvsvblue.tumblr.com/). <3

“I hate this,” Jeremy grumbled.

He and Ryan were stood in the doorway to their agency-given apartment, and Jeremy was ready to leave, fully dressed in combat gear with a heavy backpack of equipment over his shoulders. They had been lingering here for a good ten minutes, both of them just as unwilling to be the one to mention the time. Ryan had instead focused on little things as they talked - like, for example, he had never noticed before that Jeremy’s boots gave him just a little more height, and he only noticed it here because he wasn’t wearing his own.

Jeremy sounded grumpy, but Ryan knew him well enough to detect a little more under that - though he certainly wasn’t about to bring up how anxious they were _both_ feeling about this.

The agency was sending him out on a mission - solo, this time. Ryan wasn’t going.

It was supposed to be a simple job, a quick in and out. Stealth was their thing, they were both good at it, and this took it to the next level: no contact with the target if Jeremy could help it, just some sniping from as far away as he could manage to minimise the risk. All things considered, it was relatively tame by Battle Buddies standards - it was just made more stressful because they were being split up.

“I hate this too,” Ryan admitted, “but you can handle yourself. You’ll do great.” He was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to encourage Jeremy, but hopefully his partner only saw the latter.

Jeremy’s lips thinned. “Would be better if I had my Battle Buddy with me.”

“I know.” God, he ached to go with Jeremy, but he had no say here. The agency wanted him at home, wanted him to help impart some wisdom on new recruits or some bullshit. It wasn’t fair, though. How could he show them examples of good teamwork when his partner in this was halfway across the world?

Jeremy glanced at his watch again and sighed. “I’d better get going. Gotta fly out and shit.”

Ryan’s heart squeezed in his chest. He didn’t want him to go yet - or ever, really - but they couldn’t keep putting it off. If Jeremy missed his flight, their higher-ups would come knocking, and they’d be furious with them for screwing up the mission.

“Stay safe,” Ryan murmured, tucking his hands behind his back to stop them from reaching out for Jeremy. If he held him, he wasn’t sure he’d let go. “Don’t do anything stupid, I won’t be there to laugh at it or get you outta trouble, and-”

“You’re babbling,” Jeremy interrupted, gentle and warm and teasing. He reached up to cup the back of Ryan’s neck and tug him down for a sweet kiss; before Ryan knew it, his hands were on Jeremy’s hips anyway, easing him in closer in a familiar, comfortable hold. When Jeremy broke away a moment later, Ryan blinked, his mind a little clearer now, wiped clean by the kiss. “I’ll be okay, and so will you. I’ll be home before you know it.”

And then Jeremy was gone. The door closed behind him with a click, and Ryan’s shoulders slumped.

All he could do now was wait.

* * *

The thing was, Ryan wasn’t a patient man.

If he had something to distract himself, he didn’t notice the time passing as much; it occurred to Ryan now that maybe he should’ve held off on playing the new _Assassin’s Creed_ until Jeremy was gone. At least then he could’ve lost himself in hunting collectibles and random side missions for a few hours. Admittedly, most of his day was taken up by going into work, standing in front of a young, attentive audience as he regaled them with stories, but when he came home…

The apartment was too quiet, far too silent, and lonely. He couldn’t even invite any friends over to hang out; Ryan was pretty sure that the Play Pals and Team OG were already out on missions, and anyone else that ran in their friend group would be caught up in their own work or supporting those out in the field.

Truth be told, Ryan wasn’t very familiar with the feeling of loneliness - he quite enjoyed some quiet time alone, and he took full advantage of the times when Jeremy went out with the other lads for a night of drinking - but he was also used to Jeremy’s bright, boisterous attitude being there. It had been a constant in his life for a few years now, so it was strange to suddenly be without it. Even on missions they still had fun together.

This week was going to drag by, that was for sure - and it didn’t help that Ryan had the itch to get back out into the field. He could only hope that Jeremy would be able to send him updates while he was out there; maybe they would help soothe that feeling until the next time.

A quiet chirp drew his gaze away from the TV - his character had been still for a good ten minutes, waiting in front of an NPC without talking to them - but the noise was followed up with the soft patter of little paws, and then a second quiet _mrrp_ as their cat hopped up onto his lap. She made herself at home there, ignoring the fact that Ryan had to lift his controller to give her room. Ryan gave up and put the controller aside to lay a hand on her back instead, and her purr started up instantly, kicking into gear like a motorcycle engine.

Well, at least he wasn’t _totally_ alone.

* * *

He had hoped that the agency would be able to give him _something_ of an update, particularly since Ryan was his partner - in more than one meaning of the word, something that their bosses were fully aware of - but Ryan was quickly coming to realise that that wasn’t the case. There was nothing, just radio silence and the heavy emptiness that had settled in Jeremy’s absence. At first, Ryan ignored it, putting it off as simply missing his partner and needing to get it together.

And so his days fell into a predictable rhythm: wake up, work, play video games or watch TV, shower, and then bed.

It was becoming frustrating though, especially when all he could do was continue the same routine; he couldn’t _help_ Jeremy in any way here, and he was so used to being right beside him when he was in danger. The closest he could get to real field work was reminiscing in front of the new recruits - and granted, it did leave Ryan smiling to talk about the various predicaments he and Jeremy had found themselves in, but whenever he left to go home it was quickly chased up by a quiet longing.

He wasn’t too worried, though - not until that first week passed without a single word from the agency. For all he knew, maybe Jeremy was taking a little longer than expected; it happened from time to time, jobs could run over because of unforeseen circumstances. It wasn’t out of the ordinary.

Being out of the know was _killing_ Ryan, though.

After a few more days of nothing, he let himself check in with the agency. If there was any news, they would surely let him know, right?

Wrong. All they could tell Ryan was that Jeremy had completed all of his check-ins so they had no cause for concern yet, even with the mission running longer than expected. Admittedly, Ryan knew he was jumping to conclusions already, so he tried to settle back again with that new information in hand. If Jeremy was hurt or MIA, he wouldn’t have been there to answer those calls, and then the agency probably _would_ have pulled Ryan out into the field.

Surely it wouldn’t be long until he got the all-clear, and then Jeremy would be home. Things would be back to normal.

It still wasn’t the case, though, and Ryan let the silence go on for three long weeks before he was ready to throw in the towel.

At one week, he’d had no cause for worry. At two he’d started to be concerned, but had assured himself that he was working himself up too much over it. At _three,_ though, Ryan was done waiting with no information; the least the agency could do was tell him _something,_ anything that would reassure him that Jeremy was coming home soon.

He got up with the full intention of going to see his and Jeremy’s coordinator and demanding to know what was going on, but just as he was pulling on his combat gear, Ryan heard the heavy click of the lock on the front door. He froze, one foot in one of his boots, his heart pounding - the cat, previously curled up on the bed, raised her head to stare unblinkingly in the same direction as Ryan. Her fur bristled, but Ryan didn’t have time to soothe her.

Silently, he leaned over to retrieve the gun in the bedside table, but a familiar voice stopped him before he could even open the drawer.

“Ryan? You home?”

Jeremy.

Ryan relaxed at once, his shoulders slumping as he let out a heavy breath. He kicked his boots away so he could stand up, eagerly pushing out into the hallway. “In here,” he called.

He’d never felt a wave of relief like this. There Jeremy was, standing in the entryway; he looked exhausted, his jaw was bruised and there was a cut over his eyebrow, but he was _here._ He was home and he was alive, not trapped or hurt or dead like Ryan had feared. He was also still clad in all of his dark, protective clothing, but as Ryan approached Jeremy started to strip it off, dropping his bulletproof vest to the floor with a groan.

“Fuck,” he sighed, “it feels good to- _oof.”_

Jeremy cut himself off as Ryan wrapped him in a tight, sudden hug. Ryan heard him chuckle quietly against his shoulder, and it made him smile in turn. “Well, this is a nice welcome home. Didn’t expect this much enthusiasm.”

“Didn’t expect it?” Ryan laughed breathlessly along with him; his cheeks already hurt from smiling. “I didn’t hear anything for three fucking weeks, Jeremy. The agency wouldn’t tell me anything. Of _course_ I’m gonna be this enthusiastic.”

When Jeremy sagged against him, Ryan took his weight, rubbing a soothing hand along his spine. It was like they’d never been separated; everything fell back into place so naturally. “Assholes,” Jeremy muttered, “I thought they’d let you know I was okay.”

“They told me you were checking in, but nothing else.” Ryan shrugged it off though; sure, he’d probably be annoyed again later, but that was something they could bring up when they went back into work. It wasn’t fair to put so much emphasis on teams being a single unit, and then expect them to be happy when they were forced apart like that. “Speaking of work, though, don’t you need to go and do some debriefing?”

He shrugged off Ryan’s comment, squeezing him tighter. “Already been, my flight came in earlier this morning.” Somewhat sheepishly, he added, “I would’ve called, but I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“It’s fine,” Ryan assured him, “please, feel free to wake me up in the future.”

Jeremy broke away from the hug at last with another chuckle, stretching and rolling his shoulders. He really did look tired; Ryan was pretty sure he’d pass out the minute he hit their bed. He wouldn’t blame Jeremy if he did.

He followed as Jeremy headed through to the bedroom; he paused to coo at the cat and scratch behind her ears, and then started stripping off the thick, heavy combat gear. He groaned with relief as he removed it, and Ryan wasn’t surprised considering he’d probably been stuck in it for days. As Jeremy dropped his hands to his belt buckle, he glanced over at Ryan, head cocked.

“Why are you wearing your gear too, though?”

Ryan’s cheeks heated. He’d been a little too busy drinking in Jeremy’s mere presence to think of an intelligent response. “Uh.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Were you about to come find me?”

Damn it. Ryan had hoped that Jeremy would be as oblivious as usual, but he was always a little more perceptive when it came to things between them.

He decided to just avoid Jeremy’s gaze. Instead, Ryan inspected the ceiling, tracing the patterns he could find in the popcorn style of it. “No.”

“You were, weren’t you?”

Ryan closed his eyes. He could almost hear Jeremy’s grin, knew he was too delighted. It was still embarrassing to be so completely caught out like this, though. “Nope,” he repeated, popping the ‘p’ this time.

“Ryan.” Jeremy was laughing quietly, but not unkindly. Even when he felt warm hands on his waist, Ryan kept his eyes firmly shut - though the corner of his lips did tick upwards a little. “Hey, come here.”

Sighing hard, Ryan finally looked down at him again. He was greeted with a quick kiss and a grin.

“I appreciate the effort,” Jeremy told him, lightly poking the middle of Ryan’s chest, right over the body armour. “The agency should’ve kept you updated, it’s not fair. I probably would’ve done the same if it had been you out in the field. I’m gonna go take a shower, though, because I’m sure I fucking stink and you do _not_ wanna wait for me to finish getting undressed before I’ve cleaned up, so you should go relax. I’ll join you in a minute.”

“Actually, I think I’m always willing to wait for you to get undressed, but sure.” Ryan couldn’t help a little cheeky smile of his own. It made Jeremy laugh, so it was a win in his book.

“I’ll take the compliment,” Jeremy said, rolling his eyes, “but really, I haven’t had the chance to shower in days, you don’t wanna be there for this. I’ll be right back.”

Once Jeremy had vanished and Ryan heard the shower whirring to life, he allowed himself to relax. Piece by piece, his combat gear came off, and he stored it away again to wait for the next mission. He gathered the clothing that Jeremy had already abandoned, picking out what he could throw in the laundry and what would need to simply be given to the agency to deal with; he wasn’t sure he could just toss Jeremy’s pockmarked bulletproof vest in the regular trash.

By the time he heard the shower shut off again, Ryan was already curled up in bed, and the cat had taken her place on his lap. Her ears twitched when Jeremy came padding into the bedroom, his skin pink from the heat of the water and the firm scrubbing.

“Better?” Ryan asked.

“Much better,” Jeremy sighed. He barely made it under the covers before he was sinking into the mattress, leaning in enough to pillow his cheek against Ryan’s shoulder. “Mm, fuck this, I don’t care that it’s morning, I’m going to sleep.”

Ryan wound his arm around Jeremy to let him settle in closer. He knew they’d only end up overheating given how much body heat they both put out, but it was worth it to get to cuddle up to him now. “I mean, you deserve a good sleep after three weeks of a job, Jeremy.”

“I wanna spend time with you too, though,” he huffed, his voice muffled now by Ryan’s chest.

His heart fluttered with affection. Damn it, Jeremy was too cute when he was sleepy. “I’ll be here when you wake up,” he reminded him, leaning in to press a kiss to the top of his head. “We can catch up then. You can tell me all about the fun you had, and we can ignore how boring my time was just teaching recruits.”

“Would’ve preferred that to three weeks on my own in a jungle,” he grumbled. Ryan could feel the tension bleeding out of Jeremy’s shoulders though, and sure enough, when he spoke again he sounded like he was already halfway to sleeping. “Jus’ gonna nap. Wake me up in a couple hours. Then food and time together.”

Ryan bit the inside of his cheek to keep his fond laughter quiet. God, he’d missed this. “Sleep well, Jeremy.”

All he got in response was a soft, snuffly sound as Jeremy snuggled closer. Now, Ryan didn’t mind the quiet so much; he willingly sank into it, melting into Jeremy’s side to doze while the cat purred on his chest.


End file.
